A conversation with the master of Carnival Dream Captain Carlo Queriolo

by Richard H. Wagner

CARNIVAL

DREAM

At Captain Carlo Queriolo was the first captain of Carnival Dream and had the honor of bringing her into service. I spoke with him about that process and about his ship.

The Road to the Dream

After graduating from Camogli Nautical Institute - - “an old nautical school” - - in 1977, Captain Queriolo spent two years in the Italian Navy and then went to work on cargo ships for four years. However, “I didn’t like it so I stopped and went back to college.”

But Captain Queriolo’s departure from the sea did not last long. In 1985, Carnival Cruise Lines tempted him away from his academic studies with an offer to become a junior officer on its ship Festivale. “From there, I did almost all the [Carnival] ships.”

Over time, Queriolo held positions of increasing responsibility and importance. By 1991, he was staff captain on the Jubilee. In 1996, he was given command of the Carnival Ecstasy. Less than a year later, he had responsibility for bringing the Carnival Elation into service, a task he repeated shortly thereafter with Carnival Paradise. In 2003, he brought out the 110,000 gross-ton Carnival Glory, the second ship in Carnival’s Conquest class of mega-cruise ships. Then, in 2009, he was assigned to bring Carnival’s largest ship yet, the 130,000 gross-ton Carnival Dream, into service.

Looking back over 25 years with Carnival, Captain Quieriolo notes “there have been a lot of improvements and changing. I can see there was a big improvement in the food quality in the last 8 to 10 years.” At the same time, the line has moved from being known for its party ships to “more family ships.” Still, “it has always remained a fun ship for everybody - - for crew and guests. That has never changed.”

The Dream Becomes a Reality

Captain Queriolo’s work on Carnival Dream began months before the ship entered service. Traveling to the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, he oversaw the last stages of her construction. “Work in the shipyard is quite different than work on a ship in operation. You have to deal with the shipyard.” As a representative of the cruise line, the captain had to ensure that the shipyard was meeting the specifications detailed in the contract and that everything worked. “You have to be sure that everything they present to you is really well-tested.”

At the same time, the captain had to build a team of officers and crew. “The company decided first of all who would be the captain and the chief engineer. Especially for a ship of this size, they try to send a person with a little bit more experience. They send them [to the shipyard] quite early. Then, it is the captain and the chief engineer that organize the team.”

As more officers arrive, the captain “starts to train all the officers. [On Carnival Dream], there are many new features for the hotel, for the engineers and for the deck people.”

Once Carnival Dream had successfully completed her sea trials and final fitting-out, Carnival took possession of her in September 2009. She then cruised the Mediterranean before undertaking a transatlantic crossing to New York in November. A late season crossing can be difficult but this one “was beautiful; a very nice crossing. We had some weather between Bermuda and New York. That was the only time the ship was moving.”

The ship had its official naming ceremony in New York. It was a multi-media event with live and pre-recorded videos, live dance performances and Carnival’s senior cruise director and popular blogger John Heald acting as emcee. “It was much different than a regular ceremony, which, in the end, is always the same. It was a combination of a traditional one and something new.”

The Dream from a Nautical Perspective

As noted earlier, Carnival Dream is Carnival Cruise Lines’ largest ship to date. In fact, she is almost 20,000 gross tons larger than the largest of Carnival’s prior ships. She is also 45 feet longer and also significantly wider. This difference in size has an effect on her ability to handle the sea.

First, it has an impact on the ship’s stability, i.e., her propensity to roll and/or pitch while at sea. “We have much more stability. The ship does not move much. It is [a function of] the length and also how wide she is in the water.”

Indeed, in one of her first cruises, Carnival Dream found herself in the remains of a hurricane. “I spent all night on the bridge. The ship was really moving. [Still,] the disco was full to 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. It is a wide, big ship and it dealt [with the weather] quite well.”

Second, the larger size affects maneuverability, which is especially important when the ship is arriving and departing port, The side of a ship acts like a sail in that it is subject to being pushed by the wind. The larger the expanse of relatively flat surface, the more the ship will be affected by the wind. “Unfortunately, it is a big wind sail. When you have wind exceeding 25 knots abeam [i.e. coming from the side], it starts to be a little difficult. On the Conquest class, you can deal with 30 knots. You have to be a little bit more careful.” Consequently, when docking or undocking under such conditions, “sometimes you have to use a tug boat [to assist in the maneuvering.].”Carnival Dram is based on a design that has evolved from the Carnival Destiny. In such circumstances, it is unusual to depart from the core design, especially when a particular element has proven itself over and over on many subsequent ships. Thus, since the Destiny design has always had traditional propellers and rudders rather than the newer azipod system, the Dream has the traditional system.

Even though Captain Queriolo brought the world’s first azipod-equipped cruise ship into service, he is quite happy with Carnival Dream’s traditional system. “I don’t really know which is better. Now, I am more familiar with the traditional system. Since I brought out the Elation and the Paradise, I have not been back on [a ship with] azipods. I remember it was a nice thing. At the time, I really studied and was into the system. I loved it. It is a different way to do maneuvering. Over there, you do everything with a joystick. Here, it is more traditional, more manual.”

Although Dream uses traditional propellers and rudders, they are attached to 21st century technology. “Every ship that comes out, they try to [include] the latest version of every instrument. Every time you are on a new ship, there is something new to learn. I am quite happy with the technology we have here.”

There is a direct link between technological innovations on the bridge and what features can be added to the ship for the pleasure of the guests. The Lanai on Carnival Dream is a case in point. It is a wide outdoor promenade that wraps around the circumference of the ship approximately 50 feet above the waterline. On the Lanai are Jacuzzis, comfortable padded deck furniture and outdoor seating for the Ocean Plaza cafes. It is a nice feature that provides an alternative to the open decks on top of the ship.

But when a cruise ship is docking, the captain needs to know how close the side of the ship is to the pier. The Lanai projects out over the water approximately 20 feet from the sides of the ship. As a result, “the side of the ship is actually under the Lanai so when I go along side, I can’t really see.”

What made it possible to have the Lanai on the Dream “are cameras under the Lanai that show me [how close the ship is to the pier].” These cameras are linked to large high definition television screens on either side of the bridge. The captain maneuvers the ship based upon what he sees on the screen. “It is not more difficult [than the traditional method.]”

In addition to creating a feature for the pleasure of the guests, the Lanai also provides shelter for the lifeboats, which are suspended below it. Unlike the traditional way of stowing lifeboats, there is nothing between the lifeboats on Dream and the sea. “They are already in position, you do not have to do anything” In fact, in an emergency that included a power failure, they could be lowered “by gravity. We need a simple system because we are talking about 30 lifeboats - - quite an amazing number.”

In sum, “it is a nice ship. I’m really happy with her. There are many nice features onboard.”